Reversing the Decline: Food Stamps Bolster Local Economies, Help Households Weather Economic Storm

By John Quinterno
Research Associate
May 2008

Since the start of the recession, North Carolinians have received $1.6 billion in food stamp payments. That money, in turn, has generated $2.8 billion in economic activity. Absent the payments, the economic woes confronting the state’s businesses and households would be much worse.